1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to trays placed in a bucket or like container, and separate, removable compartmented inserts placed in those trays. The trays and separate inserts provide a general utility bucket into an organized container for small parts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In manufacturing, assembling, and construction of buildings, it is frequently necessary to maintain at hand a selection of fasteners, small parts, and like items. These items must be separated into collections of like objects, so that a user retrieves one such object, and spends little time verifying that he or she has retrieved the correct item. Storing a variety of such small parts or objects, and making the same readily available for retrieval has been the subject of prior art patents.
The present applicant has developed a system of stackable trays which, when placed in a general utility bucket, provides a person with an inexpensive, rugged, practical means of storing and organizing small parts. This system is seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. D325,281, issued on Apr. 7, 1992, and 5,154,303, issued on Oct. 13, 1992. Each tray overlies its predecessor, and is divided into plural compartments.
Another system of trays for organizing a bucket is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,295, issued Mar. 27, 1990 to Daniel E. Venegoni. Venegoni '295 discloses a series of vertically stacked trays, each subdivided into compartments.
The above devices of the present applicant and of Venegoni '295 share a feature. In these patents, each tray has an open center, with a strap or handle straddling the opening. Each tray is readily grasped and removed by the strap or handle.
The relevant art cited above explicitly cooperates with buckets for conversion to organized storage receptacles, which is an object of the present invention. There are other known arrangements providing compartmentalized, vertically stacked trays for receptacles, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,919,169, issued to Carl A. Jackson on Dec. 29, 1959, and 3,751,845, issued to Marion van Leeuwen on Aug. 14, 1973.
Vertically stacked trays for organizing a receptacle are further seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,292,499, issued to William Walsh on Aug. 11, 1942 and 5,062,539, issued to John W. Chandler on Nov. 5, 1991.
Compartmentalizing a tray is seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,750,258, issued to Donald D. Brown on Mar. 11, 1930, and 5,044,537, issued to Jeffery P. Buffalo on Sep. 3, 1991.
Separate, complementary, pie slice shaped compartments for organizing a single level of a receptacle is exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 1,760,761, issued to Carl March on May 27, 1930.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.